Press Releases, 29/04/2013 | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Minister Stubb to make a Team Finland trip to Colombia and Mexico

Press Release 97/2013
29 April 2013

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb will make a Team Finland trip to Columbia and Mexico. This trade mission will take place on 5–9 May. Minister Stubb will be accompanied by a business delegation of nearly 20 companies engaged in the metals, engineering, forestry, safety, meteorology, finance, ICT and consulting sectors. The delegation is compiled by Finpro. The trade mission to Mexico is made together with Estonia. The Estonian business delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. The purpose of this joint trade mission is to capitalise on Finnish and Estonian business strengths and seek synergy benefits.

Both the Colombian and Mexican markets are big and their economies are growing strongly. Mexico is currently the world’s 11th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. Trade between Finland and Mexico amounted to about 419 million euros in 2012. Of this sum, Finnish exports to Mexico accounted for 236 million euros and imports amounted to 183 million euros. Finnish exports to Colombia last year came to more than EUR 80 million while the value of imports was EUR 62 million.

The visit to Colombia will be made to the capital city, Bogotá. During the visit, Minister Stubb will meet with Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín and other ministers. Minister Stubb will also participate in a business seminar and he will lecture at Los Andes University. The ministers’ discussions will also deal with the Trade Agreement between the European Union and Colombia and Peru that enters into force soon. During the visit, the Finnish diplomatic mission in Bogotá, to be opened this year, will be celebrated, The new diplomatic mission will operate under the Embassy of Finland in Lima.

In Mexico, the trade mission will visit the capital, Mexico City. Minister Stubb will meet, among others, with President Enrique Peña Nieto and several ministers. Aside from his official meetings, Minister Stubb will take part in a business seminar and he will lecture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).